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Doctors for Reform fight NHS order to halt cancer care

A group representing nearly 1,000 doctors is preparing to mount a legal action against the health service to stop care being withdrawn from patients who want to pay for their own cancer medicines.

It is seeking a judicial review of the Department of Health policy that forces patients to pay for all their treatment if they buy any additional medicine.

Many patients would like to buy extra drugs that are not offered as part of their treatment because the National Health Service has ruled that the benefits do not justify the costs. The government fears that if patients make the purchases, called co-payments, it will lead to a "two-tier" NHS.

Doctors for Reform believes patients should be given the freedom to choose. Its intervention follows a campaign by The Sunday Times highlighting the plight of breast cancer sufferers denied the opportunity to improve their chances by paying privately for drugs.